The activities in this investigation train students to differentiate between physical (natural) and human-made features. Using both space shuttle photographs and satellite images, students will identify some of Earth's prominent natural and...(View More) human-made features. Students begin by matching images of individual physical features with their definitions, which they then must locate on larger scale images. Photos of three U.S. cities allow students to practice identifying both types of features. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. The teacher's guide will begin with a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. This is Investigation 1 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

Photos and images taken from the space shuttle are used to show unusual paths, such as those created by smoke, camel tracks, lava flows, and river deltas. After observing and discussing the images, students will record their observations, and draw...(View More) conclusions about the origin and nature of the paths. Additionally, students are introduced to one-way (rivers, jet stream) and two-way (roads, bird flyways) paths. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 3 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

This investigation requires students to locate several major U.S. cities using four different sources: an outline map, a nighttime lights image, an atlas map, and a space shuttle image. After analyzing and comparing the information from those...(View More) sources, students will offer explanations for establishing cities in particular locations. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

The impacts of natural disasters are described in imaginary pen pal letters from peers who reside in the pathways of four authentic natural disasters: a volcanic lava flow in Hawaii, a volcanic ash cloud in Russia, a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico...(View More) and flooding in the Midwestern U.S. Students must answer questions posed in the letters (included in the lesson), locate the impacted areas on a map, examine images of the disaster, research the Earth science processes involved and write back to the pen pal. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently(View Less)

Color is an important tool used in studying and interpreting satellite images. In this set of activities, students will make a color map of the global biosphere, distinguish between and learn the importance of true colors and false colors on...(View More) satellite images, and speculate on how geographers and scientists might use false color images to study Earth's surface. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 4 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 1 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 1, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

This investigation teaches that physical and human features are used to characterize places on Earth. Since types of both features are visible from space, students will use NASA images to complete several activities: matching images to geographic...(View More) places, matching images to the features described in verses of "America the Beautiful" then attaching those images to the appropriate areas on a hand-drawn outline map of the U.S. and finally, writing their own poem to describe those images. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 2 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. Note: The authors recommend that students first complete Investigation 1 in this Module (What Are Physical and Human-Made Features?) to acquaint them with identifying features.The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

Nighttime light patterns on Earth have been recorded using NASA satellites. In this investigation, students will correlate those patterns of lights with the distribution of human populations, and then determine if related statements included in the...(View More) activity are true or false. Additionally, students will use a world atlas to investigate the physical features and climate of both the populated and unpopulated areas and then use that information to explain the population patterns. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 3 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 3 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 3, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)

Students will complete several activities in which they will describe, draw, examine and explore paths. Activities range from describing, drawing and exploring local paths (roads/sidewalks to school, hiking trails, trails in the local school...(View More) environment, etc.) to comparing and contrasting larger-scale paths (streets, bridges, runways, rivers) on maps and in satellite images of three major world cities. NASA satellite images of Boston, Paris and Houston are included in the lesson. This investigation also introduces students to the need for "ground truthing." The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. The teacher's guide will begin with a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed. This is Investigation 1 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

In this activity, students compare and contrast the visual perspectives that result when viewing objects from different distances. In part one of this lesson, students view simple shapes from varying distances and record their observations. Then, in...(View More) part two, students use NASA images to compare observations about Earth's surface as seen from ground level, from an airplane and from the Space Shuttle. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. As the first investigation in this module entitled, "Exploring Our Planet From Above," the teacher's guide begins with a two-page module overview and a list of all standards addressed. Note that this is investigation one of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 1 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 1, while related, can be done independently.(View Less)

Using both literature (a book featuring a path, such as Little Red Riding Hood) and satellite images, students will identify paths, observe and analyze them from different altitudes, and distinguish natural paths from those made by humans. Students...(View More) will learn how images can inform the building, use and maintenance of paths. The URL opens to the investigation directory, with links to teacher and student materials, lesson extensions, resources, teaching tips, and assessment strategies. This is Investigation 2 of four found in the Grades K-4 Module 4 of Mission Geography. The Mission Geography curriculum integrates data and images from NASA missions with the National Geography Standards. Each of the four investigations in Module 4, while related, can be done independently. Please see Investigation 1 of this module for a two-page module overview and list of all standards addressed.(View Less)